The Evolution of Multidisciplinary Obesity Treatments and the Role of Nutrition: Past, Present, and Future (Part 2)

Philip Atherton, PhD, BSc, AFHEA

Chair of Molecular Medicine
Centre of Metabolism, Ageing & Physiology (CoMAP)
Academic Unit of the IRIS School of Medicine
University of Nottingham
Royal Derby College
Derby, England, UK

Dr Philip J. Atherton is a Professor and Chair of Clinical, Metabolic, and Molecular Physiology at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. He received a 1^st Class BSc degree and a higher PhD degree (in 2005) from the University of Central Lancashire, focusing on protein metabolism, myogenic signaling, and gene expression regulation in skeletal muscle. His current research involves an expansive combination of detailed pre- and clinical molecular physiology with the application of stable isotope methodologies and the integration of OMIC techniques to discover predictors of the mechanistic basis for, and how to mitigate, musculoskeletal declines in aging and various related diseases.

Prof. Atherton, with a H-index of 57 and ~15,000 citations, has published around 150 peer-reviewed articles and 6 invited book chapters. He is a senior editor for Experimental Physiology, Applied Physiology, Nutrition & Metabolism, and Nutrients, journals.

Jens Walter, PhD

Professor of Ecology, Food, and the Microbiome
APC Microbiome Ireland, School of Microbiology, and Department of Medicine
University College Cork
Cork, Ireland

Jens Walter, PhD, is a Professor of Ecology, Food and the Microbiome at University College Cork and the APC Microbiome Ireland. He has more than 20 years of experience in gut microbiome research. Dr Walter’s expertise lies at the interface of evolutionary ecology of the gut microbiome and human nutrition. More specifically, his research focuses on the evolutionary and ecological processes that have shaped the host-microbiome interrelationship, as well as the translation of basic microbiome science into therapeutic and nutritional strategies. He has published more than 115 peer-reviewed publications, and his work has been featured on the covers of several journals, including Cell Reports, Cell Host and Microbe, and Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Additionally, his research has been reported in hundreds of news outlets worldwide and has been highlighted six times in the research highlights of Nature and Nature Reviews Journals.

Ellen Blaak, PhD

Professor and Chair in Human Biology
Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University
NUTRIM School for Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism
Maastricht, The Netherlands

Ellen Blaak, PhD, has been a Professor in Human Biology since 2007 and serves as Chair of the Department of Human Biology at Maastricht University. She is also a Principal Investigator in Precision and Sustainable Nutrition at Campus Venlo, Maastricht University. Her research focuses on the interorgan metabolic crosstalk (gut-adipose tissue-muscle metabolism) in the etiology of obesity, insulin resistance , and type 2 diabetes mellitus, as well as the impact of nutritional or lifestyle intervention.

Steven Heymsfield, MD

Professor and Director
Body Composition-Metabolism Laboratory
Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Louisiana State University System
Baton Rouge, LA, USA

Steven Heymsfield, MD, is a Professor and Director of the Body Composition-Metabolism Laboratory at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center of the Louisiana State University System in Baton Rouge. He served as Executive Director of Pennington for three years before assuming his current academic position. 

Dr Heymsfield has published more than 600 peer-reviewed papers covering topics such as obesity, malnutrition, cancer, cachexia, and body composition. His contributions to the study of human nutrition led to the TOPS Award from The Obesity Society (TOS), the Rhoads Award from the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN), the Robert H. Herman Memorial Award, the American Society of Nutrition (ASN), and the George Bray Founders Award from TOS. Dr Heymsfield is the past president of the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, the American Society of Clinical Nutrition, and The Obesity Society.